St. Paul schools settle discrimination lawsuit

ST. PAUL — The St. Paul school district has settled a federal racial discrimination lawsuit.

Details of the settlement with the families of three former students at Heights Community School were not disclosed because of a confidentiality order by the court.

The families sued the district, school principal and the sixth-grade teacher accused of disparaging black children. The teacher resigned after the district began an investigation into discrimination allegations last January.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press says the allegations include one in which the teacher ordered the students to sit facing the wall in the back of the classroom.

Court documents say the district took the plaintiffs’ concerns seriously and addressed them promptly.